1. Field
The disclosure relates to the activation and deactivation of communication links in a digital communication system.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on one or more forward and/or reverse links. A forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link (or signal carrier) from the base stations to the terminals, and a reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link (or signal carrier) from the terminals to the base stations. These communication links may be established by a single-in-single-out (SISO), multiple-in-single-out (MISO) or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system. A signal carrier is configured to carry a signal and may be an uplink channel, a downlink channel, or both. The signal carrier may correspond, in one embodiment, to a RF channel or a portion thereof. For example, in one embodiment, the signal carrier corresponds to a specific frequency, band of frequencies, or a non-contiguous set of frequencies. Such an embodiment may be used in a frequency division duplex system. As another example, in another embodiment, the signal carrier corresponds to a particular transmission/reception time or a periodic set of times. Such an embodiment may be used in a time division duplex system.